Their Biggest Challenge
by AngelOfMusic44
Summary: Finding out Caroline was his mate, explained so much.Why he'd always had the urge to protect her, please her,& be near her. But he needs to earn her trust, & friendship before he can even think of wooing her. It would be a challenge, but Niklaus Mikaelson would never let that stop him! (starts after 4x13)(K/C,with D/E, & S/R moments!) AU
1. Prologue

**Hello, all you lovely fanfictioners... I'm AngelOfMusic44, just call me Angie, its easier, lol.**

**I've ventured into writing fan-fiction before, but it never turned into anything more then a few chapters, and its been several years since I did that. Because sometimes I truly am the queen of writers block. I cannot write anything to dramatic for the life of me, it only makes my writers block worse. I'm a bit of a comma freak, and my grammar isn't that good. I'd like to mention ahead of time, that for now, I'm not sure when I can update because I do not have internet at my home, but a relative of mine does, so it will probably be a week or more before I can update this, and for that I am profoundly sorry. Also, I'm not that good of a planner, but I do have a few elements in my head that I want to work into the story, so, if I should ever ask for suggestions, please don't hesitate to give them... but please, only give them, when I ask for them. I except constructive criticism, something that will help better me as a writer, but I don't except bashing, in fact I ignore it and delete it.**

**The season finale broke my little shipper heart. In my mind, Klaus has stayed in Mystic Falls, there is no baby, Silas was never awoken, and Kol never died. Like I said, if I write to much drama, I get writer's block big time. I will be switching back, and forth between Klaus, and Caroline's points of view, and I will mark it when that happens, so you don't get confused.**

**Other than that, I hope you all enjoy the beginning to my story, and Happy Reading to you all!**

Prologue

She fascinated him beyond reason.

He felt himself ensnared by the light that emanated from within her very soul. Her smile alone always seemed to send a surprising shiver through the very depths of him. Her biting wit and dry humour never failing to engage him. Her inner strength, loyalty, and caring nature, only added to the sweet dish that was Caroline Forbes.

Another part that he never failed to notice, was that she didn't seem to realize the innate sensuality she posessed. The ability to ensnare any male's attention wherever she went. He found it to be quite the conundrum.

Did she really not notice the blatantly sexual stares of men?! He noticed, and it infuriated him. She was his! At least, in time she would be, of that he was certain.

He had caught himself on numerous occassions, doing just that. Staring.

Staring as the sun glistened of her sun-kissed hair, or at her hips, as they swayed in a naturally enticing way, when she walked, or danced. He could keep going on about all the things that he noticed about her, but there were not enough words in any language to describe her radiance.

When he was not staring, he was listening. Her laughter held a musical lilt, that he could always clearly hear, even in the most crowded of rooms. Her sigh of frustration, when her anger was aroused, never failed to capter his attention. She was a true beauty when she was angered. Vampirism suited her well.

Whatever grace she had, had as a human, was amplified ten-fold.

Any trait she'd posessed as a human was amplified for that matter. For that is what becoming a vampire did. It heightened everything, not just ones emotions. Sure, being a vampire had it's pro's and cons, just as everything did in life, but she dealt with it all in stride, and came out all the stronger for it. It wasn't something that suited many, not by a long shot, but she seemed to take to it as naturally as a babe took to its mother's breast.

When he wasn't around her, he caught himself thinking of her. Wondering what she was doing, who she was with, and if she was safe. From the time he'd first met her, he'd had the insane urge to protect her from any sort of harm... physical, or otherwise.

She distracted him like nothing had ever done before. It surely was an inexplicable thing, no question about it.

He was the Original Hybrid for heaven's sake, and was the most formidable and dangerous creature on the planet.

But one look from the blonde baby vampire's entrancing eye's, and figuratively speaking, he'd been brought to his knees.

He knew that because of the werewolf venom in his system, his bite could kill any vampire... but his blood was also the only way to cure it. He found it to be quite the useful bargaining chip, when he needed it to be.

He had saved her life twice thus far, with his blood, but he had also been the reason behind needing to cure her in the first place. He could not honestly say he regretted the second time though. He regretted the situation and circumstances leading up to it, but had all of that not happened, he might never have had the chance to discover what he had, that day. Something he'd only ever suspected, but never gave much thought to.

She was his mate.

True, vampire's and werewolves were enemies, most of the time, but being half vampire himself, it seemed to cancel out the natural enmity his werewolf half might have otherwise felt. All wolves, even the werevolves of the world, mated for life. It didn't matter that vampires didn't, after all, he had been born a werewolf, so most of the traits associated with the species, one's he had initially dismissed because of his vampiric half, applied to him.

No wonder he had always felt the need to protect her... why he'd always wanted to rip the hearts out of any man who dared to even look at her. It seemed though, that that particular urge was significantly lessened when he knew that a man looking at her was nothing more then a friend. He suspected some of his wolf traits were tampered to a degree, by his vampiric half, and for that he was thankful.

She had gotten under his skin so easily. Her being his mate, explained so much.

He was not sorry he had forced his hybrid Tyler to leave Mystic Falls upon the threat of death if he did not immediately leave, and if he should he ever return. He had only spared him because she had asked him to. Now knowing that she was his mate, he recognized the innate desire he had to please her. But his mercy only extended so far. Even for her.

With the insolent mutt now gone, he was less of a distraction for Caroline, which was all the better for him; for he planned to use the mongrel's absence to his advantage. He wanted her with him. Yet he knew he had to tread carefully. He had to gain her trust, and friendship, before he could even think of wooing her... but he thought of all of that anyway. He simply could not help himself.

She was his one true weakness. If any of his enemies ever found out about her, they would not hesitate to use her in order to get to him.

Heaven help anyone who attempted to harm even a single strand of her golden hair. There would be no where they could run, nowhere they could hide, where he could not find them. Storm cloud's would shroud the world in darkness, mountains would crumble, earthquakes would ravage the land; such would be the equivalant of his rage.

No one, and nothing, could ever keep him from her.

Yet, with nothing more then a glance from her, he knew, that if it was what she wanted, he would stop. Not even his family had quite the same effect on him that she did. He found himself going against everything he knew, every instinct he had, hell... she had him going against his very nature, and it scared him to death.

That was something he would never admit to out loud... that the way she made him feel, scared him.

He never thought he would feel any emotions such as the ones coursing through him. After all, he was not the easiest man to get to know, or get along with. The feelings playing havoc with his heart and mind were new to him... And, as with anything new that presented a challenge, even if said challenge was also within himself, he planned to face it head on.

He would meet this challenge, and fight to conquer it. He would fight for her!

And never should it be said that Niklaus Mikaelson ever backed down from a challenge!


	2. Chapter 1a

**Good Morning, Lovely Ones.**

**I'm so very sorry that this took so long to get updated. This first official chapter is longer then I anticipated, so it will be split into two parts. I will try to get the second part up as soon as possible, but it's not quite finished yet. I really got into the dream sequence I have for Caroline, and found it worked great with my idea for where I wanted the story to go, so expect to see more dreams in the future. **

**Thank you so much for the reviews, follows, and favs. I wasn't sure if people would like this enough for me to continue, and I'm so glad that it was received in a good way. You've made me want to stick with this, and see it through to the end.**

**I apologize for the bad grammar, and the abundance of commas. I learn as I go. I have decided for now, to forgo a beta, as it would take longer to update my story, since it would be going through another person... And since I don't have internet at home, it very well may be more then a few days before I get the second part to this chapter posted, but I will try my hardest to get it posted sooner.**

**Disclaimer: I checked, and sadly I do not own anything except for the plot I came up with for the story, and I will return all the 'TVD' characters to the show as soon as I am done playing with them. I make no money from this. This is done for pure fun, and as an outlet for my always active imagination.**

**.Klaus's POV.**

Two weeks.

It had been two weeks since he'd discovered his mate, and gotten his little brother back. What a clever move. Someone had created a stake identical to the white oak one in his possession. He could claim complete innocence in this matter, as his attention had been on other matters. He thought perhaps one of this three remaining siblings had been the one to have this stake created, but they seemed to not know a thing about it, and if they did, he felt sure that they would tell him eventually. He could see no reason why they wouldn't. But secrets were a heavily guarded thing in his family. Though it wasn't high on his priority list, it was a curious thing, and one which he wanted to know more about.

Having been nearly destroyed, the charred remains of the weapon used against Kol were now being thoroughly examined by a trusted associate of the original family.

A witch of the highest caliber, who had vast knowledge of all types of wood, and any, and all spells associated with them. Such a collection of information would take time to sort through, to find exactly what they were needing to know.

He was hard pressed trying to keep Kol under control. Ever since he'd recovered from his ordeal, the second youngest Mikaelson had been ranting, and raving about revenge against the Gilbert siblings. He was out for blood. His rage rivaled that of Klaus. Nearly dying would do that to a man, he suspected.

"NIK!... NIIIK!"

Speak of the little devil... he didn't answer, knowing it would serve to add to his brother's ire. It was a fun thing to do on occassion. He was putting the finishing touches to a new sketch of his, when his little brother came barrelling into the room. Thank goodness this room had no doors, or he'd have had to bully Kol into paying to replace them.

"What is it this time Kol... a woman, the Gilberts, the Salvatores? I would hope you have a good reason to ruin a perfectly good afternoon with your incessant noise." He barely raised his eyes to spare his brother brief glance.

"And I can't imagine that your doing anything important enough, that you feel the need to ignore what I have to say." Kol said with a huff as he knocked the pencil from Klaus's hand.

"Kol, just say what you need to already." he said exasperated with his brother's childish move.

"It's the bloody Bennett witch! She cast some sort of spell on me. Now I can't do the Gilberts any harm without doing harm to myself!" he growled and threw a priceless vase at the far wall of the den, its crash reverberating throughout the manor.

"Well, I can't say I sympathize with you little brother. You've made quite the spectacle of yourself lately. You're letting your temper get the better of you. After a thousand years of life, I'd of thought you'd have better control by now."

"You're one to talk, your control is no better than mine." Kol replied while pouring himself a generous glass of whiskey.

"Might I ask how you discovered this latest development?" he said, his tone purposefully grating towards his brother.

"It doesn't matter how I discovered it... I want the bloody spell gone, now!"

"No, you see Kol," he stood, his hands clasping behind his back,"It does matter. I'd really rather not waste my time trying to clean another of your ridiculous messes." He grabbed the drink from his brother's hand with a frown marring his face.

Kol sat there, fuming, staring intensely into the flames of the fire burn brightly in the fireplace. He muttered a litany of expletives under his breath, to which Klaus just gave a faint chuckle.

"I fail to see what's so funny!"

"Your language has become quite colorful as of late, little brother."

"Well, I learned from that best, did I not?!"

"Indeed... Now, would you tell me what happened, or not?" He stared his brother down. His subtle intensity filling the room with tension.

"Could I have my drink back please? I'm not sufficiently drunk enough yet to talk about this." he asked holding out his hand for the glass of alcohol grasped in his brother's hand.

"Very well, but you will tell me Kol, before this day is out." he said with a finality that brooked no argument. Returning the drink to his brother, he gathered his sketchbook and pencil and left the room. He wondered what could have riled his brother so much that he not only seemed angry, but, dare he say it... embarrassed, as well. He was highly curious as to what happened, but was determined to let his brother tell him on his own. Despite wanting badly to meddle in the situation, he thought it best to let the matter rest, at least for a few hours. Klaus was certainly not happy about the spell Bonnie had cast upon Kol. He had a feeling she had not truly thought the consequences through when bringing about the spell. It was a dangerous business, magic. Not something to be trifled with, or used without thinking. And, no matter the situation, wasn't something you used to mess with an Original.

'Not unless you had a wish for death,' he thought with a devilish smirk, as he walked out the front door.

**.Caroline's POV.**

_She didn't recognize where she was. Not at all. Odd._

_She was wandering through a lush, thick forest, not unlike the forest surrounding her home, but definitely not the same either. She saw nothing she recognized. Yet she felt utterly at peace with her surroundings._

_She'd realized long ago that she was dreaming. The very air around her pulsed with an almost magical quality, like something from a fantasy. Though she didn't have any recognition of the woods she was in, she couldn't shake the tiny tinge of familiarity roaming through her as she continued on her trek._

_She'd seen deer grazing on the soft green grass, and the occassional fragrant flower of a small meadow, while the sun's warmth caressed them all. Picked a wild rose, inhaling its soft aromatic scent into her very being. Other then Lilac's, Roses were her favorite. She'd giggled as a pair of fox cubs rolled around the entrance to a den, nipping, biting. And smiled as their mother appeared from beneath a thicket, trotting in a straight line towards her children. Numerous squirrels, chipmunks, and other assorted small animals continuosly swept around the forest in general mayhem. It was a place teaming with life. _

_As she crested the top of a small hill, the sight before her had her staring in open-mouthed wonder._

_Grassland, as far as the eye could see, stretched before her. The sky bigger then she could ever have imagined. But what truly caught her eye, was a herd of wild horses, running across the rolling emerald plane. She took another step and hesitated... something was off. She glanced behind her and was shocked to see that her forest had disappeared. And in its place stood a large black stallion, and a white mare. Their ears pricked up at her gasp, turning their heads toward her in unison. He was magnificent. She was beautiful. The sight was utterly breathtaking. His smooth black coat shone under the sun. The mare's reminded her of the shine of freshly fallen snow. She took a tentative step forward, then another, not wanting to startle the beasts. She was now no more then ten feet from the pair, stretching her hand forward, palm up, silently trying to convey that she meant them no harm. The mare seemed intrigued and moved forward, but the stallion whinnied softly at her, halting her. She stood silently staring at the majestic animals, positively itching to touch them. She took another tentative step forward, and stopped as the stallion suddenly reared up, beating his front hooves in the air at her, as if daring her to come closer to him and his companion. She retreated a few steps and was stopped by a wall of warm, hard flesh, connecting with her back._

_She froze. Suprisingly, not out of surprise, or fright._

_"Don't be frightened, love... I promise you, he's really a gentle giant." _

_She didn't need to look to know who it was. Even if the british accent hadn't been there, the use of the word 'love' gave him away. But for some inexplicable reason, she made no move to turn around and step away from him. His arms wrapped around her waist then, a gentle, possessive gesture. His embrace was comforting, soft, and somehow... safe. She brought her hands up to cover his own. Tracing lazy circles on his hands, she let a contented sigh escape her. She didn't know why it felt so right to be in his arms, when normally she would never have let him do such a thing. Even when dancing, she always maintained a distance between them. Yet, now... she felt more at ease with him then she ever had. Almost as if she'd always done this. But of course she hand't, she thought to herself. Still, she made no move to remove herself, content to remain where was._

_Pressing a loving kiss to her temple, he whispered "Care to go for a ride?"_

_"But there's no saddles or anything Nik."_

_"So?!" _

_She knew he was smiling. Turning in his arms, she wrapped her own about his neck, please to feel his hands now resting at the small of her back._

_"I've never ridden bare-back."_

_"There is a first time for everything sweetheart." _

_"Well, since you put it that way..." she let her words trail off._

_"Come... Let me introduce you to them."_

_He took her hand in his, and approached first, the stallion. Bringing his free hand up to the nose of the horse, he let him breath in his scent. The stallion gently nudged the palm of his hand, as if saying 'I know who you are. I trust you.'_

_He brought up her hand, holding it gently, repeating the same introductory gesture he had used. The horse took a step back, but with gentle coaxing from Klaus, he came forward again, stretching his nose to her hand. It took a few moments, but eventually the stallion was nudging her hand, showing her that he trusted her now._

_"This is my horse, Henrik."_

_"It's sweet that you named him after your little brother."_

_"The mare is Stella. She's yours."_

_Having nearly forgotten the white mare, she immediately looked her way. "Mine? Are you serious?" her voice was no more than a whisper._

_"Have you ever known me to be anything but serious?!"_

_Her smile was radiant. "You have a point." she conceded. She looked at the beautiful mare, who now stood next to her companion. "Thank you so much Nik! She's beautiful!"_

_"Not as beautiful as you are, love." He said with a smile._

_"Such a flatterer you are, Mr. Mikaelson." she said, turning back to him, once again wrapping her arms around his neck._

_"I speak only the truth, Mrs. Mikaelson."_

Caroline bolted up in bed. Her eyes frantically scanning her room for anything out of the ordinary. When she found nothing to be out of place, she layed back down, willing her undead heart to quiet its frantic beating.

'Just breath deep Caroline' she said to herself. 'In through the nose, out through the mouth.' In. Out. In. Out.

Calming herself was a feat of sheer force of will. She'd NEVER had a dream like that. And certainly not one where she'd been - gulp- married to Klaus of all people. And she'd called him 'Nik'. That was a name only his family used for him. Despite it having been a dream, she couldn't shake the feeling that it meant something.

"Seriously?! This is ridiculous. It was just a dream!" she quietly berated herself, shaking away the confusing thoughts.

She glanced at her clock, the red numbers glaring back at her. '2:30 p.m'

'Ugh!'

She'd slept clear into the afternoon. She guessed she shouldn't be surprised. She'd been out late last night with Elena and Bonnie; sort of a pre-prom girl's day in Richmond. The day had been awesome, the night... Epic! She just giggled at the memories.

They'd started out by immediatley shopping for their prom dresses. Three different stores, and they'd finally found what each of them had wanted in the last one. Elena had a gorgeous a-line dress, the different shades of purple and pink, blending together in a perfect way. She looked amazing in it. Bonnie had found a classic black dress that was fitted to her knees, flaring out softly from there, falling in graceful layers to her feet. But Caroline's was by far the most stunning. A cream colored,beaded confection, that had a champagne hued underskirt that showed from about mid-calf down. It hugged her curves in all the right places. Sheer fitted perfection.

Then came lunch. Nothing special happened there. Just good food and good conversation with her best friends. Then came the clubbing. Dancing until their feet hurt... and yes, even a vampire's feet could hurt, after dancing for several straight hours, with minimal breaks. And oh, the alcohol they'd ingested. What had they been thinking! Cosmopolitan's, Margarita's, Pina Colada's, Rum & Coke's, Martini's... all the classics, as well as some that they had never heard of. She and Elena had drank a considerable amount more then Bonnie had. It took a lot to make a vampire drunk.

Thank god they'd rode the train to the city, and thank god again that Stefan had offered to pick them up at the train station once they returned. Despite being over 160 years old, he'd had quite the time getting all the girls into the car. They'd constantly dashed around him, pounced on him, and immediately gotten out of the car once he'd managed to get them in. Needless to say Caroline and Elena had given him the most trouble. Vampire speeding while inebriated was both fun and hazardous to ones health. They had both run into tree's a couple of times. Finally he'd resorted to calling Damon for help.

His brother was highly amused with the situation and was in hysterics, laughing so hard at his younger brother's expense. The two baby vampires were constantly hollering lewd things, which only made Damon laugh harder. He was never going to let his little brother live this down. Stefan had finally convinced him to come get Elena and sire bond her into going home with him. It was good he'd agreed to help because if he hadn't, he would have pulled a 'Damon' and snapped their necks. He was that frustrated. Once gone he'd had a much easier time dealing with just Caroline. Bonnie had long sinced passed out in his back seat.

She'd passed out shortly after Stefan had dropped her quite unceremoniously onto her bed, covering her and saying good night. She had no idea what time that had been. 'Never again' she thought to herself. Drinking that much while at the time was fun, left one with a seriously aching head the next morning. Vampire or not, there were just some things that took time to heal. She hoped the girls were ok. No doubt they were in the same boat as she was.

Suddenly, the most inticing of smells assaulted her nose. Her mouth positively watering at the wonderful aroma of her favorite foods being cooked. Throwing back her covers, she had enough sense to remember to get up slowly or dizziness would be bringing her to her knees. She walked to the bathroom, praying that her mom had remembered to buy more aspirin. 'Jackpot!' she mentally did a back-flip, at seeing the bottle in the medicine cabinet. She shook two of the little white tablets into her hand and popped them into her mouth. Turning the faucet on she drank several long sips of water. The cool liquid sliding down her throat felt refreshing and helped to calm the burning, aching thirst for an entirely different kind of libation.

Then she looked in the mirror.

"Oh. My. God!"

She looked AWFUL. Her clothes from yesterday were a wrinkled mess, her eyes blood-shot, her make-up smeared, and her hair had a few twigs stuck in it and was tangled six ways to sunday.

She immediately removed the twigs and took a brush to her hair, working out the tangles as best she could. After several minutes she became frustrated enough with it, that she threw the brush at the wall, wincing as she heard it break against the tile. Fixing her hair into a messy bun and cleaning the smeared make-up from her face she left the bathroom. It was high time she satisfied her hunger for food.

The smell of eggs, bacon, pancakes, and fresh coffee drew her like a magnet to the kitchen. She loved her some breakfast food! As she rounded the corner into the room, she was met with a warm mug of 'B+'.

"Thought you might want this first." he said, the corners of his mouth lifting into a small smile.

"You read my mind."

"Well, I'm no Edward Cullen, but I try."

"You just referenced 'Twilight'!" her jaw dropped and introduced itself to the floor at her feet.

"So?!"

"You... Just referenced... 'Twilight'!" She was glad she hadn't taken a drink yet.

"You're stating the obvious Caroline."

She bit her lip to keep the giggles in. At the look on his face she just couldn't hold back her laughter anymore. She burst, her giggles turning into loud guffaws of laughter. He grabbed the cup from her hand before she spilled it. She collapsed against the wall of the kitchen holding her belly, a stitch was forming in her side. She hadn't laughed this hard in ages. After several long minutes she finally calmed herself, taking a deep breath, wiping away the 'funny tears' (as her mother called them) from her face.

"I'm glad I amuse you." her friend said with a smirk.

"Oh my god... I can't even remember the last time I laughed so hard that cried."

"If I was able to get you to do that, maybe I should become a comedian."

She scoffed. "Hate to break it to you Salvatore, but you're to serious to be a comedian." She took the rewarmed mug of blood from his outstretched hand. taking a grateful sip. "Mmmmm... Gotta love 'B+' in the morning."

He held a hand to his chest in mock hurt. "You wound me Caroline." he said with a heavy sigh.

Rolling her eyes, she said "I'm sure you'll survive... Now where's the rest of my breakfast?"

He half turned from her to wave with his hand at the mini-buffet set out on her kitchen island. "Have at it."

She positively salivated at the sight.

"Wipe the drool off your chin, you're not a dog." he quipped at her.

She punched him in the arm, "Shut up Stefan."

He rubbed his arm. "Violent little thing aren't you?!" He chuckled, joining her at the island.

"Only when I haven't had my daily morning dose of caffeine."

"Duly noted. Now eat before your food gets cold."

"Yes, Sir!" She gave him a mock-salute, and heartily dug into her food.


	3. Chapter 1b

**Hello my freaky Darlings... I humbly ask for your forgiveness for not updating when I said I would. I just lost my inspiration for a brief few days and then got caught up in family business. You may notice in future chapters (if you haven't already) that I don't do quite as much dialogue as you would like. I'm not very good at doing dialogue, because I want to do the characters justice, and would rather not do as much dialogue unless I feel I can get it right... or, at least as right as I possibly can. So feedback on that front would be appreciated. As always reading, and reviewing is great, because I would love to know what all think of the story so far, and any opinions you may have on it.**

**Again, all of the favs, follows, and reviews have blown me away. I thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart. You guys are the best! **

**(P.S) I was on youtube a little while ago and noticed that there is no Klaus/Caroline video with the song 'Hungry Eyes'... For Shame!... 'Tis a crime, a crime I tell you! I think that would be a fantastic song for them! (Klaus always has some sort of expressive look in his eyes when he looks at Caroline... No wonder I think it would work for a fan video.)**

**Disclaimer: I checked, and sadly I do not own anything except for the plot I came up with for the story, and I will return all the 'TVD' characters to the show as soon as I am done playing with them. I make no money from this. This is done for pure fun, and as an outlet for my always active imagination.**

**.Caroline's POV.**

She and Stefan spent a carefree afternoon together (a rare thing for them), before agreeing to meet up at The Grill with everyone for dinner at 7:30. She watched him drive off in his little red car, waving as he went. She smiled and blew a friendly little kiss to him... to which he heaved a dramatic sigh, holding a hand to his forehead, then caught said kiss in his fist, and stuffed it with a goofy little smile into his shirt pocket. She chuckled and went back inside to clean-up whatever messes they'd made. There wasn't much to do in that aspect, just a few dirty cups and a couple of blankets thrown haphazardously on the couch. They had long since cleaned up the mess that Stefan had made, when he'd cooked for her.

She looked out the window of her kitchen as she cleaned the glasses. The sky was alight with its canvas of pinks, oranges, and purples; the setting sun throwing these colors together to create a rich blend of natural beauty. Sunsets were one of her favorite things. Finishing her task, she sped to her room to grab her camera, not wanting to miss the opportunity to capture this moment before it was lost. She'd taken many such pictures before, but each one was different. No two sunsets were ever the same. Each one was unique and glorious in their own way. Photography wasn't a hobby of hers per se, more like something she dabbled in from, time to time. Still... it was something she truly enjoyed doing.

Dashing to her backdoor she threw it open, turned back to close it, and ran through the woods behind her house, hoping to reach the open field just a few miles away, where the view of the sunset would be the best, in just a few minutes. Vampire speed really came in handy at times like this. She grinned as she broke through the line of trees at the edge of the field, stopping for a short moment to catch her breath (which was more out of habit really) and then ran to the middle of the field, facing herself to the west. She spared a few precious seconds to angle her camera at a space between two ancient evergreens, briefly glancing up at the sky, then back at her camera screen to make sure the shot was perfect. _Snap, snap, snap. _She took several pictures of that one shot from different angles, then switched to 'panorama' and took one long continuous shot of the setting sun over the top of the trees.

'This one is being framed'

she thought to herself, smiling at the panoramic picture she'd just taken. It was definitely one of her best.

She was so enraptured by the calm beauty around her that she failed to sense the presence standing a short distance from her... until he spoke.

"Fancy meeting you here, Caroline."

She jumped, her undead heart quickened its beating to a frantic pace. She spun around, pinning the man with a glare.

"Don't scare me like that!"

"My apologies, love... That wasn't my intention." He smiled, his dimples making a prominent appearance.

"What are you doing here?"

He held out his sketchbook and pencil, clasped firmly in his right hand.

"Just wanted to draw in peace for a little while."

"And you had to come here?!" She huffed.

"Why not here?" he asked with a cheeky grin.

"I was here first." she mumbled, almost petulantly.

"This is a free country, love. There is no law that says I cannot come here."

"Like you would have let that stop you." She couldn't help the small smile from forming.

His grin turned to a smirk. "You may have a point."

"Besides, I'm sure there are more fields around town that you can stomp around."

"True... But I've been coming to this particular field quite often lately. It has one of the most magnificent views in all of Mystic Falls."

She just crossed her arms, still a little miffed at having her peaceful moment ruined by the exasperating Original. She agreed with him about the view though. Then a thought crossed her mind.

"How long have you been standing there anyway?"

"I only just arrived. I didn't know you would be here."

She had her doubts about that.

"Honest truth, sweetheart." he held his free hand up in what he hoped was a gesture that would convey his honesty.

She narrowed her eyes a fraction, before deciding he was being truthful.

"Well... I agree with you on the view. It's one of my favorites."

"However beautiful this one is, it doesn't compare with the view from the falls."

"I've only ever been to the falls a few times and never at sunset, or sunrise. Even for a vampire it's a little difficult to get to."

"And I agree with you on that, sweetheart."

Her small smile widened, a twinkle appearing in her crystal clear blue eyes.

"What?!"

"We just agreed with each other on two things... And for once we haven't gotten into a fight about something."

"Yes, well... statistically speaking, that was bound to happen at some point, Caroline." His smile widened as well, his stormy blue eyes holding an answering glint of amusement at her simple observation.

She turned her gaze back towards the sunset, catching the last moments of the sun's color painting the sky.

**.Klaus's POV.**

He'd never wanted to paint something more in all his life, then he did at that moment. The last soft rays of the sun kissing her blonde curls and skin... the light could not be more perfect. She'd never looked so perfect. She'd looked radiant at the ball, sexy at the decade dance, but here... she was dressed in a simple ensemble of jeans and a t-shirt, yet still he thought her to be the most beautiful woman that he'd ever seen. And even if he didn't say it out loud, it was not a compliment given lightly. He had to quell the urge to enfold her in his arms and never let her go. _'All in good time.' _He thought to himself.

She closed her eyes, inhaling deeply of the fresh, clean air. When, after a few minutes of watching her every move, he was more then a little dissapointed when her eyes suddenly snapped open and demanded to know what the time was.

He quirked a brow at her. "Somewhere you need to be, love?"

"Dammit, I don't have my phone, or my watch. Will you just tell me what time it is?!" She said. "And not that it's any of your business but yes... I do have somewhere to be."

"Very well... Hold this would you?" He handed her his sketchbook, giving her a look as he did so; speaking to her with his eyes that she was not to open it. He fished his phone out of his pocket, pressed a random button and the screen illuminated with life. "It's nearly quarter to seven."

"Shit! I'm so going to be late." She turned from him and stopped several yards away when he called her name.

"May I have my book back, please, love?"

"Oh... sorry... here." His only warning of what she was about to do was a mischievous grin playing across her face. She threw his sketchbook back to him (much like one would throw a frisbee; thank goodness the book had a clip to keep it closed), the leather bound book making a rounded arc back towards him. He only had to speed forward a few feet to catch it. When he looked back up she was gone. _'The little minx.' _He smirked and decided to forgo sketching. He had a new painting to do instead. And with that thought he ran off in the opposite direction, heading back to his own home.

**.Caroline's POV.**

It was just past 7:30 by the time Caroline made it to The Grill. The restaurant was packed more then usual for a Friday night.

"Care!" She saw Bonnie waving at her from their usual booth. She made her way through the crowd to her friends.

"'Bout time you got here Blondie... I'm starving." Damon smirked taking a sip of his drink.

"Well, gee... Thanks for reining in your impatience Damon." She said with sarcasm.

"Oh, he was all for ordering without you, but I made him wait." Elena said told her.

Caroline could hear Jeremy making a whipping noise under his breath.

Damon scoffed."No, she didn't. I just decided to be nice."

"I didn't know 'nice' was in your vocabulary." Caroline said as she took her seat next to Bonnie.

"It's a new thing I'm trying out... We'll see how it goes." He signaled a passing waitress with his glass that he wanted a refill. "Translation: Elena threatened to withhold the sex, if I wasn't friendly." He waggled his eyebrows at his girlfriend.

"Dude!"

"Damon!"

"Sicko!"

A multitude of words burst from the assembled group of friends. Elena look shocked, Jeremy glared, Caroline insulted, and Bonnie threatened to give him a little headache.

"Not cool man... Thats my sister, I don't need to be hearing that stuff!" Jeremy huffed, exasperated already with the eldest Salvatore brother.

Elena blushed furiously, elbowing Damon in his stomach. "I did _not_ say that!"

"She's forgetting stuff already." He grunted as Elena elbowed him again, and winced when Caroline reached across the table to punch his arm.

"Violent little vampires aren't you?!"

"Only when we have good reason to be." Caroline replied archly. "Where's Stefan?" She asked, finally making note that he was missing from the group.

"He's playing a game of pool with Matt." Bonnie grinned, nodding her head towards the section of the bar where the pool tables were.

"The quarterback bet my brother 50 bucks that he could beat him."

"Matt's a good pool player. He knows what he's doing." Jeremy said, defending his friend.

"And Stefan is a 163 year old vampire that spent a lot of his days in bars across america. He could beat Matt with a hand tied behind his back." Damon said with pride.

"Confident much, Damon?!" Caroline rolled her eyes, a friendly smile appearing on her face as the waitress returned with Damon's drink and a handful of menu's, passing them out around the table.

"How is your night going?" The redhead asked everyone. They all replied with _'Good, thanks.' _

"Awesome... Can I get everyone else something to drink while you look at the menu's?"

Caroline had an inkling of familiarity take refuge in her mind. She knew this girl. But could not, for the life of her, remember where from.

"I know you." She blurted out.

"You're Caroline Forbes right?"

"Yes."

The waitress smiled. "I thought so. You've grown so much since I saw you last." She continued at Caroline's perplexed look. "I used to babysit you when you were in grade school."

"_Jessica!_" She exclaimed happily. Jumping up to embrace the woman she hadn't seen in years.

Jessica chuckled, returning the enthusiatic hug. "Good to see you too, sweetie." She patted Caroline's back.

"Guys, this woman makes the _Best _chocolate chip cookies in the _World!_" She gushed.

"Figures you would remember that." Jessica laughed. Caroline gave her a shameless look. "I've always had good sized sweet-tooth, and your cookies were addictive."

"Don't I know it... You were always sneaking extra one's when you thought I wasn't looking." She gave Caroline a wink, as she took everyone's drink orders.

"It was good seeing you Care. You behave and tell your mom I said 'Hi'."

"I will... And I always behave!" She replied with playful indignance. Jessica just quirked an eyebrow at her and walked back to the kitchen to get their drinks.

Caroline watched her former babysitter's retreating form for a moment before sitting back down.

"So... little human Caroline got her hand caught in the cookie jar?" Damon asked her, laughter evident in his tone, and his eyes.

"Shut up Damon." She crumpled her napkin and threw it at him. He caught it, letting his laughter spill from his grinning lips. She was in an even better mood now, and not even Damon's sarcasm could bring her down.


	4. Chapter 2

**A/N: PLEASE READ... I HAVE A REQUEST!**

**I was wondering if someone might know a person who would be willing to do a cover image for my story? **

**(I'm not good at that sort of thing, and leave it to the professionals, lol.)**

**I have to say my little darlings, all the support I have gotten for this story so far, has, once again, blown me away. I never thought in the beginning that it would be so well received, but as time has gone on, it has continued to be a success with all of you. Once again, I thank each and every single person who has reviewed, followed, and favorited this story from the bottom of my heart... It means more to me than I could ever possibly say. You guys are the best!**

**(P.S) The first part in italics in this chapter, will be when Klaus is seeing the memory of Kol's talk with Bonnie, while he is asleep. The second part will be another Caroline dream, once I switch to her point of view. **

**SONG: "UNDISCLOSED DESIRE" BY, MUSE.**

**(WHEN YOU SEE THE LYRICS OF THE SONG STARTING, (THEY ARE IN BOLD-ITALICS), THEN I HIGHLY RECOMMEND PAUSING IN YOUR READING AND LOOKING UP THE FULL SONG ON YOUTUBE, SO YOU CAN LISTEN TO IT DURING THAT SECTION OF THE CHAPTER. TRUST ME, IT MAKES IT MORE FUN.)**

**Now, with all of that said... On to Chapter 2.**

**Disclaimer: I checked, and sadly I do not own anything except for the plot I came up with for the story, and I will return all the 'TVD' characters to the show as soon as I am done playing with them. I make no money from this. This is done for pure fun, and as an outlet for my always active imagination.**

* * *

**.Klaus's POV.**

The moment was burned indelibley into his brain. The image in his mind, of his mate enjoying the setting sun in that field, was one that he wanted to immortalize in a painting. He'd been working tirelessly for several hours now, his hand maneuvering the paintbrush fluidly across the canvas. Anyone who really knew him, would know that, when he was working this furiously on a new painting, you left him well alone. But that didn't always stop people from disturbing him anyway. Or, at least... it didn't stop his siblings. It was a rare occurence for Elijah to interrupt him when he was working on a new project with such fervor. Needless to say, Rebekah and Kol interrupted him more often.

He set his paintbrush aside, stepping back to inspect his work. It was nearly finished already, as he had decided to make it a smaller painting instead. This was a more personal piece of art; one which he did not intend to readily share with others. At least for a while. He got up and left his studio, locking it. He knew it wouldn't stop his siblings from entering, but they knew better. This was his private space. They were only ever allowed in there, if he was in there as well.

He hadn't forgotten about wanting to know how Kol had found out about the spell cast on him. He walked through the halls of the manor until he reached the door to his brother's bedroom. He listened carefully, with his advanced hearing, for any sounds that would indicate his brother was inside. He rolled his eyes. Kol was snoring. He figured that he must have purposefully drank enough to make himself pass out, so as to avoid the conversation for as long as possible. Foolish thinking on Kol's part really. Klaus was powerful enough that he could search his mind while his little brother slept peacefully. He knew that it wouldn't wake him up though, Kol was a very heavy sleeper, even more so when drunk. He entered the room and silently closed the door behind him. He sat carefully down next to his brother on the bed, placing both of hands on either side of his brother's head, letting the tips of his fingers rest against his temples. He gently searched through his brother's memory, (not having to look very hard), for his conversation with Bonnie appeared in his brother's mind. _'Well... that was easy.' _ He thought to himself and settled in to watch the show.

* * *

_**Earlier that day... (Kol's talk with Bonnie, from his pov.)**_

_He'd nearly been killed two weeks ago, and little had helped to temper his rage. Alcohol and the batting cages in the local park seemed to be all that interested him when he wasn't thinking of ways to make the Gilberts pay. The satisfying crack of the metal bat hitting the ball to the other end of the cage burst through him, as he hit one baseball after another. He'd been here for several hours already, refilling the machine that shot out the balls several times over. He didn't see himself leaving for at least a few hours more._

_He was waiting for the next baseball to shoot itself from the machine and saw that it was empty. He'd been so deep in his thoughts that he'd not realized that it had ran out. He huffed, grabbed a bin and began to collect the balls to refill the machine. The weight of the bin didn't faze him. 'Yay, for super strength.' he thought to himself. He was bending down to pick up another baseball, when he got the feeling that he was being watched. He released his hold on the bin and set it down._

_He turned in a slow circle, surveying his surroundings. His gaze went right over her at first and then snapped right back, once his brain realized that he recognized her face. Bonnie Bennett._

_The last remaining witch of the ever powerful Bennett line. Her mother was a former witch, who had been turned by Damon Salvatore, in order to break the Bennett family line that his mother had tried to draw power from, in order to kill him and his siblings. Niklaus had been the main target. He always would be, with his hybrid nature._

_The little being before him, with her light mocha skin, deep, forest green eyes, and coffee colored hair, had an air of arrogance about her. She was powerful indeed, but her demeanor was greatly amusing him. She gave a little nod of her head, indicating the seat on the bench beside her. Looking around him for anyone that might be watching, (thankfully there was not,) he used his vamp speed to reach the seat beside her. He was smiling, sitting next to her within a few seconds._

_"To what do I owe the pleasure Miss Bennett? Here to watch the show?" He said, gesturing to the batting cages a few yards from them._

_She scoffed. "You wish, Kol-"_

_"So you _do _know my name?!" His arrogant grin only served to annoy her._

_"There isn't a single supernatural in this town who doesn't know the names of you and your family memebers."_

_"I see our reputation is still going strong then."_

_"That would be the understatement of the year." She muttered under her breath._

_Of course he had heard her, though it was of no importance to him. "Well, Bonnie... seeing as you didn't come to just stare at me then, what do you want?" The sight of her pretty little face had perked him up a tiny bit, but over all, his mood was still not the best._

_"I want you to leave Jeremy and Elena alone!" She said with finality._

_"Yeah... That is one wish I can't grant darling. Keep trying."_

_"You know, I met a witch once who cast a spell on a vampire, so that whatever happened to her, happened to someone else. It wasn't pretty." She said dryly._

_"Sounds kinky Bonnie, dear... But I fail to see how that has anything to do with me."_

_"The vampire was Katherine Pierce." A somewhat cheeky grin took over her face._

_Kol visibly tensed. "Now there is a name I've not heard in a while. Although, 500 years ago she was known as Katerina Petrova. The second doppelganger." And the last, they'd thought, until they found out about Elena Gilbert. "My brother Elijah still calls her Katerina, much of the time. Old habits die hard, I suppose." He said on a sigh._

_"Katherine had the witch cast that spell on her when she found out that the Salvatores were trying to kill her. Whenever they managed to hurt her, Elena was wounded the same way." She looked him directly in the eye as she said this._

_He began to get the feeling that something was very wrong. His grin vanished. "Katherine may be a bitch, but a wiley bitch she remains. She'd have to be, having run from Nik for 500 years... I still fail to see what this has to do with me."_

_"After I found out the exact spell that was used, I tweaked it a little and cast it on them. Now whatever happens to them... happens to you." She said with smug finality._

_He ground his teeth together. The witch was truly a foolish one. Powerful, but foolish._

_"If what you say is true, Bonnie, then I suggest you remove the spell before I start __removing the body parts of someone you care for. I believe your father is in town, is he not?" He was hard-pressed trying to keep his anger under control. If he made another scene, then his brother would dagger him for sure. And there was no way in hell he was going back into that bloody coffin!_

_"See, I knew you would say that. From what I heard of a little conversation Rebekah and Elijah were having a while back, Klaus is really serious about wanting to dagger you since you cant seem to keep your temper under control." She had already cast a protection spell on herself. If Kol tried to harm her, he'd find himself with a broken appendage._

_His hand was positively itching to rip the witch's tongue from her delectable looking mouth._

_"Like to play with fire, do you?" If looks could kill, the Bennett witch would have been dead long ago. _

_"I'm a witch. It comes with the territory." She said archly._

_He scoffed. "You must really have a death wish Bonnie."_

_"And you must really like pain. Because if you hurt them in any way, whatever pain you cause them, will feel 10 times worse. Another little tweak of mine." _

_He shot to his feet, pacing for a moment in front of her. He whipped back around suddenly, his chocolate eyes now blazing with barely contained fury._

_"I swear to you little witch, if you dont reverse this spell, I won't think twice about killing you and every person you have ever come into contact with in your life, my brother and his bloody dagger be damned. There is nothing on earth that would be able to protect you, or anyone else."_

_"No... You won't."_

_"I don't see how you could stop me Bennett." He growled, the menace in his words barely seemed to faze her._

_"The last tweak I put into the spell, was that I tied it to my magical signature. Only my magic can undo it. You kill me, you kill anyone, and that spell will never be undone." She stood up then, pinning him with her fiercest glare and began walking away. She stopped. "Oh, and one more thing Kol," She said turning back to him for a brief moment. "I put a protection spell on myself too. If you try to hurt me, you'll find something of yours breaking... And lets just say you wouldn't be able to entertain any lady friends for a day, or two." The smugness in her smile nearly stripped him of what little control he had left. She walked away._

_He stood there, shock and rage plainly written on his face. He sped to a nearby tree a smashed his fist against, creating a good sized hole. Shaking off the splinters from his hand, he sped off into the woods, desperately needing to kill something._

With that last image of his brother running off, Klaus slipped gently from his mind, and left the room. The Bennett witch was learning. He really wasn't happy with this spell business, but the protection spell that Bonnie had placed on herself, while he had initially cringed, (he was a man to, after all), it now left him smirking in amusement. His little brother was a true lover of women, and had been this way for as long as he could remember. No matter the consequence's, he wouldn't risk that part of himself for anything. Not even for his great want of revenge.

Nothing could be done tonight however, the hour was late, and he was mentally exhausted. Expending that kind of energy to reach into an Original's mind, (no matter that he was an Original himself), was not an easy task. It would tire anyone, no matter how powerful. He retired for the evening to his own bedroom. Stripping himself of all his clothing, changed into a pair of cotton sleeping pants. He was asleep soon after his head hit the pillow.

* * *

**.Caroline's POV.**

_This was one of those dreams where you definitely knew you were dreaming, and definitely didn't care. That was how she felt. She was just having to much fun to bothering with waking up anytime soon. She was on a stage, in a private club of some sort. It looked intimate, classy... and pricey! This wasn't your average run-of-the-mill club. It was modern. The lighting around the white walls glowing an icey blue. The chandeliers cast a soft white light over the dance floor, while the surrounding tables all had their own tiny lamps. The illumation from the floor lighting behind the bar counter shown up through the glass shelving holding various types of alcohol, making them seem like they were glowing. _

_'Whoever designed this place is a genius.' She thought to herself._

_Despite the place being packed, it somehow felt cozy. The stage she was on a fair size; it had room enough for a live band and a little extra room for singers. The dance floor was a shining black marble, strewn with veins of silver. A dark, dark brown hardwood covered the rest of the space. The tables were muted silver in color, so as to keep the glare from the lighting down to a minimum. The seating, plain black wooden chairs with white cushions. The place looked fantastic. It screamed 'I'm spendy, but I'm so worth it.' It wasn't to much though. It was just right._

_She looked around the sea of faces, not recognizing anyone, but smiled with warmth none the less. She loved the attention. She may not know any of them, but they seemed to know who she was. They were yelling, cheering, pleading for more of her enchanting voice. It looked like she was the singer here. Now you see why she was having so much fun in her dream. All of the hopeful, adoring eyes of people who were her fans, looked up to her, calling her with their gazes, as well as their mouths._

_She heard the band start up behind her, a low, steady, seductive rhythm, that had her swaying along with it, much to the crowd's delight, (if their cheers were anything to go by), until she started to sing._

* * *

_**I know you've suffered, But I don't want you to hide**_

_**It's cold and loveless, I won't let you be denied**_

_**Soothing, I'll make you feel pure**_

_**Trust Me, You can be sure**_

_**I want to reconsile the violence in your heart**_

_**I want to recognize your beauty's not just a mask**_

_**I want to exorcise the demon's from your past**_

_**I want to satisfy the Undisclosed Desires in heart**_

_**You trick your lover's, That your wicked and divine**_

_**You may be a sinner, But your innocence is mine**_

_**Please Me, Show me how it's done**_

_**Tease Me, You are the one**_

_**I want to reconsile the violence in your heart**_

_**I want to recognize your beauty's not just a mask**_

_**I want to exorcise the demon's from your past**_

_**I want to satisfy the Undisclosed Desires in heart**_

_A face, illuminated in a dark corner by the soft light of the table lamp, drew her gaze like a magnet. His ocean blue eyes snaring her own, luring her, seducing her. Thank god for the break in the song, because she couldn't remember a thing. If she'd had been in the middle of a verse, or the chorus, she'd have embarrassed herself by forgetting the words, so entranced was she by the expressive look in his eyes alone. _

_Raising an eyebrow then, he flashed her an amused and somewhat cocky grin. The bastard knew the effect he had on her. That spurred her into action. She threw him an equally mischeivous grin before she started to sing again, a few seconds later._

_**Please Me, Show me how it's done**_

_**Trust Me, You are the one**_

_**I want to reconsile the violence in your heart**_

_**I want to recognize your beauty's not just a mask**_

_**I want to exorcise the demon's from your past**_

_**I want to satisfy the Undisclosed Desires in heart**_

* * *

_She finished the song to wild cheers from the crowd. She gestured to the band, who bowed to the sea of people on the dance floor, earning another round of applause. She gave a bow of her own and the applauding fans cheered once more. With a few choice words and a wave of farewell, she left the stage for the night._

_She eyed the man at the corner table, his eyes had followed every move she'd made all evening. He raised a brow at her and tipped his glass to her, congratulating her in his own way, on a job well done. She gave him a small smile and left the main area of the club, retreating to her dressing room._

_She showered in the en-suite bathroom, washing off the smell of sweat and smoke. She toweled herself dry and changed into a jean skirt and midnight-blue halter. She really loved this shirt. She couldn't wear a bra with it though, as it was mostly backless. She'd just finished drying her hair and slipped into her favorite black heels, when she heard a knock at her dressing room door. She smiled to herself. She knew who it was. She looked at the clock, he was right on time._

_She opened the door to find him leaning against the frame with a seductive grin lighting his face. _

_"You shouldn't be back here." She told him._

_"No, this is the one place on earth I should be, love." He replied._

_She tugged on his shirt, pulling him into the room, slamming the door behind him with her foot. Her lips found his immediately. Their mouths falling into a dance they had long since perfected. He gently nipped her bottom lip with his teeth, her gasp gave him entrance to her mouth. His tongue plunged at once, leaving no area untouched. Her own tongue began a fierce duel with his. She mewled at feeling his hands traveling down her back, cupping her delectable behind, pulling her flush against him. Her hands hastily pushed his jacket from his shoulders, letting it fall where it may._

_He chuckled. His woman was a wildcat behind closed doors._

_She let another gasp escape her as she found herself up against a wall. His hands still on her behind, lifted her, urging her to wrap her legs around his waist._

_"Nik." She breathed, her voice a husky whisper._

_He ceased his journey of kissing across her shoulder and looked into her eyes. The blaze of desire he saw there, he knew was a reflection of his own. Her breathing was labored. She ran a hand through his hair, trailing it to his neck, massaging as she went. Her other hand went down his chest. Upon reaching the hem of his shirt she slipped her hand beneath it, caressing the chiseled planes of his stomach._

_He groaned and attacked her lips. The proximity of her body to his did sinful things to him. A thousand different scenario's flew through his mind of what he wanted to do to her. He pulled away after several long, heated minutes of leisurely kissing her._

_"Nik... p-please." She whimpered with her pleasure._

_He knew what she wanted, but he wanted to hear her say the words._

_"Tell me what you want, Caroline." His eyes were hypnotizing. She couldn't look away._

_She gave a groan of her own._

_"Say it, love... two little words is all it takes." His tongue darted out to lick a path along her neck, sucking the skin at the junction where it met her shoulder, marking her._

_"Oh, my god... Dammit Nik, just do it already." She let out a low moan._

_He was determined though. He wouldn't do it until she said the words. "Say. It. Caroline." He punctuated each word with a kiss along her jaw._

_"Bite me, damn you." She said the words with clenched teeth._

_"With pleasure, sweetheart." He whispered into her ear._

_She barely supressed a loud, pleasured moan when she finally felt his fangs sinking deeply, blissfully into her neck._

Caroline eyes shot open, her hand going immediately to her neck, and breathed a sigh of relief when she felt nothing but smooth skin. She layed there, in the dark of her bedroom, wondering why she'd dreamt of _him _two nights in a row now. This one had been way different then the one from last night.

'_What the hell is going on with my dreams?!' _ She growled in her mind. Her first instinct was to say that someone was giving her these dreams, but a tiny part of her mind was telling her that wasn't the answer. She immediately squashed the little voice. There was no other plausible explanation. At least, none that she could immediately think of.

She turned in her bed to face the window. The sky was still pitch black. The only light piercing the inky darkness was the artificial light of the street lamps, and the glowing, natural light of the moon.

It was still the middle of the night. She would find out what was going on with her dreams in the morning.


	5. Chapter 3

**A/N: PLEASE READ:**

**As I mentioned in the previous author's note, I was hoping to find someone who wouldn't mind doing a cover image for my story. So if anyone knows someone who is good at that sort of thing, then please let me know. I'd really appreciate it.**

**WOW... I've hit 101 follows, and 51 favorites. It may not seem like a lot to some, but it really means a lot to me, and I cannot even begin to say how much I appreciate each and every one of you that has taken the time to ready my story. You Guys Rock!**

**(P.S) Major kudos to anyone who can recognize part of a line I used from an animated movie. And Klaus had the same dream as Caroline had in the previous chapter, but from his POV. I wont be redoing the dream though.**

**The lyrics to Colbie Caillat's "Brighter Than The Sun", to me, is a good way to describe how the Klaus in my story feel's for Caroline. It's something he's never felt before, never got a chance to feel until he met her, and he intends to keep it!**

**.Caroline's POV.**

She couldn't get a grasp on any one idea that made any sense to her. '_Why am I dreaming about Klaus?!' _She growled to herself. It certainly wasn't by choice, she told herself firmly. There was not a reason on earth she should even be dreaming of him. Especially not dreaming something like _that._

The rest of her evening had gone so well. Matt had actually managed to beat Stefan at their game of pool, much to Damon's amusement. He mockingly chastised his younger about it for the rest of the night. Stefan took it all in good-naturedly though. Brothers will be brothers, after all. Bonnie had beaten Elena, and she had lost to Stefan. It was all in good fun. Besides, pool had never really been her thing. Losing at that was inevitable.

When the early morning sun announced it was rising for the day by letting it's golden rays lighten the dark sky, making it fade away, she sat up in her bed with a sigh. She hadn't been able to fall back asleep. The dream had caused a multitude of thoughts to run rampant through her mind, unable to let her rest. Everytime she thought of a reason why she was having these dreams, another thought would come barging in, telling her one, or more reasons why that former idea made no sense. One thought that kept creeping in though, that she couldn't seem to supress, was that it was because she actually _liked _him. She always, immediately stomped on that thought-train, stopping it in it's tracks. But it alway's seemed to reappear. '_Like an Original that couldn't die... how ironic is that?!' _She thought to herself.

Ok... So maybe she did like him... a little. There was no way on this supernaturally infested earth she would ever admit to it out loud, though. Nope. Definitely not. No, that admission was purely for her own peace of mind and the sooner she admitted it to herself, the better off she would be. Tyler may not be in town, but he was still her boyfriend.

All of a sudden her alarm went off. She hated the annoying buzzing type clocks and had opted for one that would wake her up with the radio. Her room was filled with the music of Owl City's "Fireflies." God, how she loved this song. She identified with it. It had a sense of wonder to it that echoed her own. The world was... is, filled with so many unexplainable things. The earth itself, was inexplicable. You could explain things _about _it, but as a whole, it was a miraculous thing. It was constantly spinning so fast that it appeared not to move at all. Putting them all in a sort of suspended state of being. It was constantly moving, as was everything within it's atmosphere, yet gravity kept them grounded. Thank goodness for that! The universe its-self was certainly was a wonderous thing.

She leaned across the bed and upped the volume, letting the music blast through the speakers. She knew she could get away with it this morning because her mother would be at work. Her mom wasn't entirely fond of this song and hated when Caroline let it blast through the house.

She danced and sung along with it's infectious electronic beat as she went to shower and get herself ready for school. She was ready to in little over any hour; less time then she'd expected after what little sleep she'd gotten because of the dream. But she guessed having woken up to one of her favorite songs had something to do with it. Music never failed to lift her spirits when she listened to something she loved. Music always had something to fit whatever mood she might find herself in. Hard rock when she was pissed off. Pop, or something similar when she was in an upbeat mood. Enya, or something classical when she wanted to relax. Her taste in music was so eclectic it was ridiculous.

Her mood was further lifted when she turned the radio on in her car and another song she adored was playing. She pouted a little when she realized it was more then half way through it. "Figures." she muttered to herself as she drove away from her house. It was good living only a few short miles from the school. The less gas she used, the better. It was spendy and the less often she had to fill the tank, the more money she'd have in her wallet.

She arrived at the familiar brick building and parked. Collecting her purse and bag from the passenger seat, she got out of her car. A sudden _whoosh _of air had her jumping back, causing her to drop her purse, spilling the contents on the pavement.

A beloved face with a head of straight brown hair was smiling guiltily at Caroline.

"Elena!"

"Sorry, Care... I really didn't mean to scare you."

"Pfft!" She sputtered. "I wasn't scared, I was surprised. There's a difference." She bent down to gather the scattered item's back into her purse.

"Whatever, you were so scared! You jumped like, a foot in the air." She grinned down at her blonde friend.

"You spend to much time with Damon. You're starting to smile like him."

"I'll take that as a compliment. He has such a pretty smile."

"Pretty?" Caroline scoffed.

"Dreamy, sexy, magnetic... fantastic?! Take your pick, I got more." Elena helped her finish picking up all the things that had spilled from her purse.

"Ok, ok, ok... I get it. Damon has a great smile." She said with mild exasperation. She wasn't the biggest fan of the older Salvatore and with good reason. But her friend was in love with him and she seemed to be a good influence on him too. Oh, he was still a selfish, sarcastic ass... but Elena brought out a softer side to him that Caroline hadn't figured he'd possessed. And she could tell that he was in love with Elena too. Anyone could see that.

Her friend graced her with smile that spoke volumes. "Sorry again, Care."

She nudged Elena's shoulder, playfully with her own. "No big deal."

They walked into the school chatting about last night's dinner. Upon reaching their locker's Caroline finally asked where Bonnie was.

"At home, sick. I texted her this morning and waited forever for her to text back, and when she didn't I finally called her. She was still in bed. Stefan is playing the mother hen until we get out of school. I promised to bring home any assignments he misses." She said, grabbing the book she needed and stowing anything she didn't need for her first class in her locker.

"Poor, Bon... I guess we get to be nursemaid's again. Can't leave Stefan there all day by himself I guess." They loved their friend dearly. But caring for a sick friend wasn't exactly a picnic for anyone.

"Yes, yes we do. We can't subject him to sick Bonnie for to long, she'd eat him alive!"

"To true... Remember freshman year?" Caroline gave an exaggerated shudder.

"She was a nightmare!" Elena laughed a little at the memory. Their friend was a strong witch nowadays. She'd changed, they all had. She used to be a complete baby when really sick. Bonnie didn't get sick often, but when she did, her body did a damn fine job of it.

"Well, to be fair, she had the Flu at the time." Caroline reminded her.

"True... You ready?" Elena asked her.

"As I'll ever be!" She said emphatically, with a nod of her head and the slamming of her locker door.

"Then let's go... The Wicked Witch of The West will kill us if we're late again." Elena said with humor, referring to their english teacher, who had a hook-shaped nose with a large wart on the side and a vile temper. Ever since they'd met her, they'd compared her to the famous witch from "The Wizard of Oz." No one liked her.

Caroline laughed whole-heartedly at the mention of the nickname for their teacher. It wasn't vey nice, but neither was their english teacher. She linked arms with her friend and they left for class... chuckling as they went.

**.Klaus's POV.**

Klaus sat nursing an early morning glass of whiskey. He'd managed to sleep for a few hours, but a rather vivid dream had woken him in the wee hours of the morning. The sky had still been dark. Of course he'd dreamt of his mate before, yet had never had a dream like _that._

__He'd conditioned himself long ago to need very little sleep. Of course, less sleep meant more time awake, which in turn, meant more time to stew in his own thoughts. He was a selfish man and would gladly sleep more often in the future, if it meant more dreams like that. They would have to satisfy him until he had her by his side. And that would take time.

He and Caroline had a somewhat tentative acquiantance. It was a start. He'd thought off and on of ways to spend time with her that would seem completely natural. The meeting in the field yesterday had actually been unplanned, but he would not complain. He would take what he could get.

Now knowing that she was his mate, he felt even more compelled to be near her. The need had been muted before; more like a soft humming in his unconcious mind. Now it was a full blown symphony, blaring a consistent melody into his mind.

Had he been only a werewolf that had just discovered his mate, instead of a hybrid, he would be suffering greatly without her presence around him in some way. As it was, his vampire half had again tampered another werewolf trait of his. For that he was thankful. She was always on his mind though. Of course, if it would have been in any way possible, she would be with him now and he wouldn't let her out of his sight again.

'Possessive, much?'

He thought to himself with a slight grin. Yes, he definitely was. With her, he was many things. She brought out parts of his personality that he had thought long since gone. Parts he'd thought died along with his humanity a thousand years ago. Even if it took years to win her over, he knew it would happen. They were inevitable. Yes, he'd been born over a thousand years before her, but age was only a number. No wonder he'd never yet loved another. His mate hadn't been born until eighteen years ago and they'd not met until a little over a year before. Fate was a fickle mistress; she did as she pleased.

"You must be thinking of her again brother." He had not even heard Elijah enter the room.

"What makes you think such a thing, Elijah?"

"You're drinking early in the morning... again. It's only been the last two weeks that you've done so." His elder brother was the most perceptive of his siblings. The only answer he gave to his brother's observation was a raised brow.

"What finally brings you back to Mystic Falls brother?" He'd called Elijah the morning after he'd saved Caroline from the bite he'd inflicted on her. He had sorely needed to tell someone of the discovery of his mate and his older brother was the only one he could think of that would keep the matter quiet for the time being.

"I thought it time to return here, now that the cure business was finished. I am sorry that it turned out to be wild goose chase, Niklaus."

"I was trapped in the Gilbert living room for several days while part of the Mystic Falls gang went in search of the cure. The only highlight was finding out about Caroline."

"Yes, I can imagine that would be the only highlight."

"Rebekah wasn't happy about it. She was so very set on becoming human again. I cannot say that I am sorry that it turned out to be a hoax after all."

"It was her choice."

"She has been a vampire for over a thousand years. She wouldn't have lasted as a human, Elijah."

"Be that as it may, it was still what she wanted brother. She has had a cherished dream crushed into nothing but dust. After the failed disaster with your hybrids, a new reason for being has been brought before you. Rebekah feels she has nothing now." Elijah joined him on the couch.

"She still has us."

"Not the greatest of prospects to her, considering our history."

"The past is the past Elijah, she needs to leave it there and move forward, just as she did a thousand years ago."

"Much has happened in that thousand years, Niklaus. Many things stain our family history. We will always be family. Forever, in fact. But we are a bit broken, are we not?"

He knew his brother had a point. He hadn't wanted to lose his little sister to a frail mortal life. She'd been with him for the better part of their life and he didn't want that to change. She had always wanted a family, children of her own and all that. His little sister was the very definition of a hopeless romantic. But as he'd told Elijah, she'd been a vampire for little more then a thousand years. She wouldn't have lasted as a human.

"She will move past it eventually, Elijah. You know this as well as I." Klaus finally replied to him.

"I feel she will, yes." He nodded, agreeing.

He gave a small grin of affection. Their little sister would find someone one day; of that he was certain. For all her faults, she had the capacity to love with all she had. Yes, she fell to easily at times, but he felt confident that she would get it right one day; it just may take a while.

"When was the last time you ate brother?" He asked Elijah casually.

"The night before last... Why do you ask?"

Klaus gave a devilish smirk. "I know neither of us favor the creatures of forest, but I feel the need to hunt. Care to join me?" He stood as he asked and deposited his glass on the end table.

"It has been a while since I had a good hunt." He stood as well, removing his suit jacket and tie, and layed them neatly across the back of the leather sofa. "Lead the way, Niklaus."

He left through the glass doors at the other end of the room. Upon stepping onto the stone terrace, he inhaled deeply of the fragrant afternoon air. He turned his gaze to his elder brother who had stepped up beside him. With a raised eyebrow he asked, "Are the usual terms agreeable to you brother?"

Elijah gave a slight eyeroll. "$10,000 to the first of us who can find and completely drain at least three bears. It has been a while since we've done that."

"At least 200 years I believe." Kol interjected joining them on the terrace. "I wasn't about to let you two have all the fun." He'd heard the last of their conversation, as he'd already been outside.

"Meet back here with the proof then my brothers." Elijah said, speeding off into the expansive woods behind their home. Klaus and Kol gave matching grins to one another before heading off in seperate directions. Each of the three brothers was determined to out-hunt the other two.


	6. Chapter 4

**A/N: PLEASE READ:**

**I GIVE A HUGE SHOUT-OUT TO: approvesomuch, for the absolutely AMAZING cover image she has done for my story! I highly suggest that anyone who is doing a story and would like a cover image, send her a PM. She's a GENIUS!**

* * *

**I am so very sorry for the appallingly late update. **

**I'm not quite that happy with this chapter. I've written, deleted, and rewritten parts of it so many times that its ridiculous. I've been looking and listening for inspiration ever since I posted the last chapter. But it seems that inspiration did not want me to find it.**

**It would seem that my Muse decided to take some time-off, I guess. So I had to go and find the prissy minx to drag her back here, kicking and screaming, before I could really buckle down and write something. I am determined to get one more chapter up before I go on vacation for a few days on July 14th.**

**WOOOOW... 69 Favorites and 135 follows now. That... Is... AWESOME!**

**I am floating high on the fanfic cloud right now. I am so glad you liked the Original brothers interaction. I wanted something a little more light-hearted, and I am so glad that all of you enjoyed it.**

**As always, please, read and review. My Muse is a greedy wench, so even a few reviews would be enough to keep her well fed and happy.**

**(P.S) The conversation between Caroline and Klaus during her dream is happening in their thoughts. When their dialogue isn't in their thoughts, it is in italics, but there is only a little of that. **

**Since thoughts from characters are usually in italics, and I always have her dreams in italics, I made the font normal. I just thought it fit better that way.**

**Disclaimer: I checked, and sadly I do not own anything except for the plot I came up with for the story, and I will return all the 'TVD' characters to the show as soon as I am done playing with them. I make no money from this. This is done for pure fun, and as an outlet for my always active imagination.**

**Happy Reading My Lovely Ones.**

**...**

**...Caroline's POV...**

**...**

"Thanks, Stefan." Caroline called after him as she watched him leave Bonnie's home later that afternoon. He turned back to her and waved goodbye, yelling _'you're welcome,'_ back to her once more. She truly adored Stefan. He'd rapidly become one of her nearest and dearest friends.

She closed the door and returned to the living room. Bonnie was curled up on the couch under her favorite blanket with her feet stretched across Elena's lap. She'd rented "Brave," for Bonnie. The three of them had immediately taken to the heroine of the Disney film. The spirit and strength of the fire-haired princess greatly reminded her of Bonnie. She could be a real spitfire.

She made herself a comfortable seat on the floor, resting back against the sofa and wrapped a blanket around herself.

"I love the music in this movie!" Elena exclaimed. Caroline and Bonnie murmured their agreement.

"Shush... No talking during the movie!" Bonnie mumbled.

Elena looked at Caroline with mock indignance. "She just shushed me." She said, pointing a finger at their friend.

"Good." Caroline replied dryly, and Elena flashed her a pouty little smile.

"SHUSH." Bonnie said, just a little louder this time. They immediately clamped their mouths shut and returned their attention to the televison.

(...Later That Night...)

Caroline fell onto bed with a sigh. The afternoon with Bonnie and Elena had been good. Bonnie hadn't gotten sick again. Which, if she were honest, she was grateful for. Being sick wasn't fun, and seeing someone go through that wasn't any more entertaining. Though some thought it endlessly hilarious. She would never understand that. Being sick was just... gross. It left you feeling awful and a powerful urge to brush your teeth many times. _If _you felt you could stomache the taste of the toothpaste that is.

Leaving the trail her thoughts had taken, she snuggled her face into her pillow, smelling the linens, a soft moan of pleasure escaping her lips. Ah, the smell of clean laundry; one of her favorite scents! Along with the softly fragrant smell of Lilacs and Roses. There were other ones she loved, but those were her favorites. She let memories and thoughts of the day lull her into a deep, and hopefully, dreamless sleep. But she was not to be so lucky.

_Once more she was in a forest. The same one as before, a tiny thought in her mind made her aware of that fact. Yet it looked a little intimidating to her at the moment. It was night and it was illuminated only by the bright full moon above. She stopped in a small clearing and looked to it now and could almost make herself believe that she saw a face on it. She smiled to herself, remembering fondly of times with her dad when she was little and he'd tell her stories about 'The Man In The Moon.' And the stars! Oh, how she wished the sky above her quaint little town was filled with this many stars. She could pick out a constellation here and there; the big dipper, the little dipper and orion's belt. Those were the only one's she could ever easily recognize in the night sky._

_Being a vampire came in handy in the instance of time. All she had was time. Time to learn all the constellations, to learn all the languages of the world. It would all take...time. She sobered at the thought. She loved being a vampire. She did. But there were two drawbacks that she didn't like. Drinking from humans and the fact that every human she would ever care for, would always die. Her mother. Matt, Bonnie, Jeremy, and any human she would know and care for in the future. She accepted that last fact though. There was simply nothing she could do about it, unless of course, a human she cared for wanted her to turn them. She would never turn someone that did not truly want it. Nor would she compel them to want it._

_Compulsion. A tricky little gift that vampires had. Maybe with time she wouldn't be so touchy about the subject. '_A very long time.' _She thought to herself. It was a handy ability to have, but she stoutly refused to abuse it. She knew herself well enough to know that she would never let someone convince her otherwise._

_A howl broke the silence of the night and cut-off her line of thought. A long drawn out call followed by several more; much fainter, but no less distinguishable. The nervousness that eminated from her at the sounds filling the air was palpable. Seeping into. Filling it with a tension so thick, one could cut cleanly through it with a knife. A harsh breath escaped her. Her gaze flew in every direction, trying to pinpoint where the howls had come from. _

_Another howl pierced the night. Sending what few nocturnal animals that were out and about, scurring to safety. They, too, could sense the approaching danger of a predator on the prowl. Seeking out prey to sate it's hunger. _

_Her undead heart sped-up. Beating a powerful and furious rhythm in her chest. She looked to her right; she was absolutely positive that the howls were coming from that direction. Why she was not running fast in the opposite direction, she didn't know. Her feet would not move. _'Why can't I move?!' _She thought furiously. Truly frightened when heard yet another howl, sounding closer to her now. She tried again to move, but it was as if her feet were not her own. Sure they were hers, they were still attached to her (obviously,) but she could not make them move for anything. She put her hands around her lower leg and tried to pull her feet forward. Yet still... no movement. Her vampiric strength was absolutely useless in this instance._

_A breath seized in her throat; rendered absolutely immobile at the sudden appearance of large black wolf at the far edge of the clearing. An alpha male._

_"_Oh My God!_" She whispered. _

_She shrieked in terror when another wolf, this one a large tawny male, lept seemingly from out of nowhere to land in front of her. She whimpered her fear. She could sense... no, feel the powerful authority the tawny wolf held about him like a second skin. It briefly turned it's gaze to her and she gasped. The eyes she'd beheld for a few short seconds arrested her with intensity. It was _him_; she just knew it! The deep blue orbs held a fierce expression, of what, she wasn't quite sure. Maybe... protectiveness? _

_The expression now in his eyes, the stance he took and held firm in front of her, he exuded a ferocious anger towards the black wolf; exhibiting a clear warning to him to back off. His ears were pressed back flat against his head, lips curled, fangs bared. Vicious snarls, gnashing teeth and short, snapping barks were exchanged between the two wolves. The black alpha's hackles were raised. His hunt had been interrupted and he was angry. Whether he was a werewolf like her tawny protector, she didn't know. And she didn't want to stay to find out. Yet, she felt her best chance of getting away from the menacing black wolf alive, lay with him. With Klaus. _

_She'd never seen his wolf form before. Never thought she would have any reason to, or want to see it. But here he was. _

_"_Don't be afraid, love... I won't hurt you._" The voice in her head had her staring in shock. How the hell could he speak to her in her mind?!_

_"_I'll explain later_." She picture him, vividly in her mind, smirking. She continued to gape at him._

_The black wolf lunged forward, his sights set to the tawny intruder protecting his prey. Caroline screamed in terror as Klaus let out a menacing growl, running at the alpha. They collided in a kaleidescope of fur, teeth and claws. Clouds swept pass the moon, blocking some of it's illuminating light, darkening the clearing, making the scene unfolding before her eyes all the more terrifying. And not all her fear was for herself... it was for him as well._

_They bit, tearing into any weak point in the others body. What could only be described as a hissing growl escaped Klaus as the enemy alpha landed a blow at his face with a quick swipe of his sharp claw. He jumped high enough to land on the other side of the black wolf; sparing only a second before he lunged at his enemy's tail. He clamped his viciously sharp teeth on the fur covered appendage, tugging so hard it was nearly seperated from the wolf's body. Hanging now by only a few bloody pieces of flesh and a nearly broken tail-bone. _

_Original Hybrid strength was a handy thing!_

_An ear-splitting sound errupted from the alpha. An anguish and pain filled whining howl. It sent a shiver of adrenaline fueled fear down Caroline's spine. From there it turned into a full-blown shudder all over her body. She'd never been so terrified in all her life. All this had happened in the space of a few second's. _

_Klaus jumped back from the black wolf, blood covered and dripped from his lower jaw. The alpha turned sharply and snapped at the tawny wolf that had injured him so. He stepped back himself, his tail tangling with his back legs when he went a little to fast with his movement. He stumbled only a little, but it was the opening Klaus needed. He leaped. His aim on his enemy's throat. Like it was naught but paper, he ripped into the black alpha's neck with alarming ease. A sliver of a thought told her she should not be surprised._

_The enemy wolf yelped. A keening sound that made Caroline cringe. She didn't want to see this, but could no more look away, than move. Her eyes were riveted to the carnage in front of her. She'd been witness to some truly terrible things in her life, but this... it was, gut-wrenching. If she was still capable of it, she was positive she would have emptied her stomach by now. He was dead within a minute._

_His voice sounded in her mind once more. "_You're not hurt are you?_" He asked._

_For a moment she couldn't form a response. Her silence prompted him to turn his head in concern. "_Caroline?_" She was staring at the body of the now dead wolf; more specifically the wound on it's neck. He called her name again. "Caroline?" She snapped out of the daze from the gore in front of her._

_"What?" She said a little breathily._

_"_I asked if you were hurt_..._?_"_

_"Oh... No, I'm not. Please, could you get rid of that?!" She said with a little more strength, looking away from the dead wolf._

_He gave a small nod and disappeared into the tree's. Not quite what she'd expected. "Klaus?" She called for him, a note of hesitance in her voice; almost as if she expected him to just leave her there._

_"_I'm not leaving you, Caroline. I'm only shifting. Just close your eyes, love... I'll be back in a moment, I promise._" And she believed him. _

_She closed her eyes. Without the aide of sight, her other senses heightened, becoming more focused. Her hearing, for example, could pick out the distant sounds of breaking bones. He was shifting. But never once did she hear him release a groan, or scream from the change. Maybe he just didn't want to frighten her anymore than she already was. She supposed that, that was the most likely reason._

_Her eyes remained closed. A few minutes later she heard him picking up the dead wolf and walking off with it. She ran her hands over her face and let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Her heart had slowed its formerly frantic beating only a fraction. She still felt tense. Mentally and physically she gave herself a good shaking. Despite the smell of the blood littering the ground where the alpha had fallen, she took several deep breaths to calm herself further. The corner of her mouth lifted just a little when she felt her heartbeat slowing._

_She could hear when he returned to the clearing. She looked to him then. "Thank you. For saving me... again." Quite unexpectedly, she whipped around and embraced him. A dim thought passed through her mind that she could move her legs again. "Thank you." She whispered once more and pulled away._

_He smiled. A pregnant silence fell. It allowed her thoughts to return to a burning question she had for him._

_"How were you able to talk to me in my mind?"_

_His face sobered and he looked away. She waited for him to answer her; all the while watching a barrel full of emotions flashing in his eyes. _

_He sighed and returned his gaze to her face. The moonlight making her golden hair seem like it was glowing , momentarily distracted him. Then, once more, he spoke to her in her mind. _

_"_The reason I can speak to you in your mind is because… You are my mate, Caroline._"_

_…._

Once again, Caroline found herself waking up from an entirely unexpected dream. This one had been far different from the other two. The first had been light, almost… happy, with a feeling of contentment about it. The second one, drastically different from the first, had purely been about the feelings of desire and lust. But this third one… it was, for lack of a better phrase, a real whopper.

This one had gone from filled with peace, to filled with fear, horror… and finally, shock. The end of her dream had been a complete mind-bomb.

Laying there in the dark of her bedroom, she let her thoughts wander through every detail of all three of her dreams. She hoped and prayed with all she had that there wouldn't be any more. She didn't want her dreams to have _anything _to do with _him. _Yes, she had already admitted to herself that she liked him, just a little, but she didn't want to be dreaming of him. She should be dreaming about Tyler, she thought to her self.

With the thought of her boyfriend crossing her mind, she made the firm decision to confront the Original Hybrid. He _had _to be the one messing with her dreams. Yet, even as she thought that, a tiny and unwelcome thought told her that she was wrong. She squashed it immediately, but yet again, it left her feeling more confused then ever.


	7. Chapter 5a

**A/N: PLEASE READ!**

**I apologize once again for the horribly late update. I know I promised a chapter before I left for vacation, but my Muse ran from me again, and I couldn't come up with anything. **

**As a consolation to you all, this is an extra-long chapter, that I have split into two parts. The second part will be up in a few days.**

**I'd like to give HUGE props to 'SittingOnTheEdgeOfTheUniverse' for being the only one to guess correctly, about how Caroline is having these dreams. As she put it, it's a 'supernaturally subconscious need to connect with their mate.' Klaus has never given her the dreams, and in my story he never will. Thank you so very much for all the reviews for the last chapter, I'm glad you enjoyed it so much. **

**OMG, OMG, OMG... 86 favorites, 171 follows, and 48 reviews. I looked at the stats on my fic this morning and I nearly squealed with happiness. I am, oh so giddy right now. **

**And, YAY... I FINALLY GOT SOME INSPIRATION BACK... I give huge thanks to Klaroline video-makers on you-tube, animated films, the album 'I'm Already There,' by LoneStar, BonJovi, OneRepublic, and The Lumineers. All of these things gave me some seriously good inspiration for future chapters. Plus, I grew up in the 90's, so… a big thanks to the Spice Girls for added inspiration the last few days.**

**Disclaimer: I checked, and sadly I do not own anything except for the plot I came up with for the story, and I will return all the 'TVD' characters to the show as soon as I am done playing with them. I make no money from this. This is done for pure fun, and as an outlet for my always active imagination.**

**...**

**...Caroline's POV (with a little of Klaus's thrown in)...**

**...**

Caroline's nerves were in a tightly tangled ball lodged in her throat. She'd never been so nervous as she was now. The sun was just beginning to shine its light on the horizon. She'd thought she had come up with a solid argument, yet when she arrived at his home, her mind had gone completely blank. Not a good sign. She turned her car off and sat there for a few moments longer, contemplating the dilemma she had once again. She mentally scolded herself for being such a chicken. She was a strong and brave woman. She could face anything. Ha! Anything and the Original Hybrid were two entirely separate things.

Even so, with her determination renewed, she got out of her car, slammed the door shut and marched towards the front door of Klaus's home.

Just to annoy him, she knocked repeatedly, and for good measure, rang the doorbell as well. She jumped near a mile high when a voiced sounded behind her.

"You should be glad that Rebekah isn't home right now." Klaus walked from the shadows that had hidden him from her sight. "She'd have snapped your neck for all of the noise your making."

Walking up to her, he smiled. "What are you doing here so early, love? Should you not be getting ready for school soon?"

"I have a bone to pick with you... I'll survive if I miss a little school." She crossed her arms.

"I see, well by all means, come in, love." He opened the door and gestured for her to pass him into the house. He did so enjoy watching her walk. She had a little flounce in her step this morning. It had him curious as to what she could possibly be thinking he'd done now. He, for once, could claim complete innocence in whatever problem had arisen. More than likely, his younger brother was the one at fault.

Upon reaching his living room she stopped and breathed deeply. "Please tell me you have something to drink." She asked him this without turning to look at him.

He didn't need to ask what kind of drink she wanted. "Cupboard's over there." He pointed to the cherry wood cabinet set into the wall of his den.

She strode toward it with determination and pulled open the cabinet doors with more force than necessary. In fact, she'd opened it hard enough that it cracked the expensive wood. She poured herself a healthy glassful some non-labeled glass decanter of amber liquid. It sent a sharp burn down her throat that had her hissing. She gulped the rest and poured herself a second glass, finally turning to face him. She'd sorely needed the liquid courage. Thank goodness he had something strong.

Facing him though, she found she wasn't quite sure how she should start. She knew he might hurt her, maybe not enough to kill her, but hurt her for certain if she just got straight to the point in accusing him of messing with her dreams. But annoying him but skirting around the subject and wasting his time – and hers- might be just as bad. She decided on her course of action, so to speak and forged on.

"So…" she paused.

He stayed silent, only raising an eyebrow at her in question.

"I want you to stop messing with my dreams."

"Pardon?"

"You heard me." She held her glass in a tight grip.

"Yes, I did… But I truly have no clue as to what you're talking about, Caroline."

"Oh, please. Don't give me that innocent bull. You're the only one who could possibly be doing it." She said vehemently.

He was beginning to show is annoyance. "Love, the last time I influenced anyone's dream, you parents were not yet a twinkle in your grandparent's eyes."

"Bullshit!"

"I don't take kindly to being accused of something when you've no proof I had any hand in it."

She groaned. There really was no way around it. She had to tell him why she thought he was the one responsible. "It has to be you."

"I fail to see how it has-"he was interrupted by her yelling out some truly surprising words.

"I've dreamed about you three nights in a row now!"

To say he was stunned was an understatement.

**…...**

**…Klaus's POV (W/ a little of Caroline's…**

**…..**

"It has to be you." She repeated more to herself.

She'd dreamt of him… For the past three nights. He could feel his mouth quirking into a smile. He clasped his hands behind his back and looked at her. She looked as though she were at her wit's end. But he could not honestly say that he was not pleased with this development. Quite the opposite… He was ecstatic, though he held back the emotion from showing on his face.

"So you've been having dreams of me… Were you part of these dreams?"

She eyed him. She wasn't certain she should reveal the entirety of the dreams just yet. She settled for vagueness. "Yes."

Already he could see what she was trying to do. He'd not lived a thousand years without learning to read people well.

He tilted his head. "And, might I ask what happened in these dreams?"

She scoffed. "Unbelievable, you ask what happens when you were the one who gave me the dreams in the first place."

"As much as I'm sure you'd like to believe what you're accusing me of, love, I do think some part of you isn't sure."

"Humph!" She only rolled her eyes to that.

He walked to her and removed the glass from her hand. Finishing the last bit of her drink he suddenly threw it at the wall opposite them. Her head whipped of its own accord to watch as the glass shattered against the wall. She looked back and his face was a few scant inches from hers.

"I'm right though, am I not?" He asked her with a grin.

"Maybe." She crossed her arms, as if that might give her some sort of protection. It was a flimsy barrier between the two of them.

"I see." At the moment, he was beyond pleased with her reaction to his nearness. He had an inkling of an idea swirling about in his mind of why she would be dreaming of him.

"Well…" He back up a few steps and sat down in his favored arm chair. "As much as I enjoy the idea of you dreaming of me, I am still not the one responsible for your little predicament."

She fairly growled at him. What a beauty she was. Maybe he could get her angry enough to let her inner vampire out. Alas, as much as he would love that, there were more important things to do. It was sooner than he'd expected to be able to tell her, but so much the better for him.

"Before you start spouting more ridiculous accusations, Caroline, I do think I have an idea about what may be causing your dreams." He paused and took a deep breath.

"If it really wasn't you, than what could possibly be the reason for them?" She asked him.

"It's quite simple really…"

"I don't see how it could possibly be-"This time, he interrupted her.

"You're my mate, Caroline."

She could see that he was dead serious.


	8. Chapter 5b

**A/N: PLEASE READ!**

** Ok, so I am a little bit cruel for leaving you all with that little cliffhanger, but the response I got, besides being mean for it, was awesome. The last chapter was my most reviewed yet, and it made me so very happy!**

**As a reward I'd like a few suggestions as to something you might like to see in future chapters. Just put them in your reviews, ok.**

**(P.S) I'm sorry ahead of time for some things in this chapter that are said repeatedly. It was necessary for some of it, for the direction I wanted this part of the chapter to go in. Plus, the appearance and farewell for Tyler in my fic is in this chapter. It won't be very believable, but remember, I can't write anything to dramatic, or I just get writer's block.**

**Happy Reading To You All!**

**Disclaimer: I checked, and sadly I do not own anything except for the plot I came up with for the story, and I will return all the 'TVD' characters to the show as soon as I am done playing with them. I make no money from this. This is done for pure fun, and as an outlet for my always active imagination.**

**...**

**...Caroline's POV...**

**...**

_"You're my mate, Caroline."_

To say she was stunned was quite an understatement. That one little sentence was on repeat in her mind. It was being kicked around into all corners of it so that she would not soon forget it. She truly doubted she could if she tried.

Yet there was one tiny rebellious corner of her mind that wouldn't let her accept it. No matter how serious he seemed.

"That's not possible."

"I assure you, love... It's possible. I am part wolf remember?" His steepled his fingers.

"It's not possible." She muttered under her breath. "It _can't _be true... Vampire's don't mate, let alone with a werewolf."

"Hybrid. Magic made me a vampire, but I was born a werewolf. I must admit I initially dismissed most of my wolf traits- mating included- nevertheless, it's happened, and there is not a thing you or I can do about it." He was watching her every move and all the emotion flashing in her eyes.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, NO!"She was pacing frantically now, her breathing going near as fast as the beat of her heart that was thundering in her chest. "But... How... It-It just _can't _be possible."

It was almost as though she thought if she told herself that as many times as possible, it wouldn't be true. Mate. It was just something she couldn't seem to wrap her head around.

When he told her about her being his -gulp- mate, something clicked into place within her. It made sense in her heart, but still her mind was on the merry-go-round of impossibility. In her head she reminded herself that she loved _Tyler_... her _boyfriend. _Her world had truly been turned upside down now, if she had to _tell _herself that.

She just could not handle this right now. "I've got to go." She sped from his home and in a split-second decision, decided that she needed to run. She needed to feel the wind whipping past her and to breath in fresh air. She swept past her car, down the road away from his home and into the woods. She needed to think.

Past wood and rock, pine needles and leaf, she ran. Were she still human her lungs would be burning with the need to catch her breath. She vaguely recognized that she was now running through the woods surrounding the Salvatore boarding house and still she ran. Far outside town. Along with her legs her thoughts were also still running a vicious circle in her head.

Mate. Mate. Mate. Mate. Mate.

Why wouldn't it stop repeating, she thought to herself. It wasn't true... It _couldn't _be true. He had to be lying.

She stopped. A hazy thought ran feebly through her mind that she no longer recognized where she was. She sat on a fallen tree. "God, what am I gonna do?!" She whispered and her face fell into her hands.

An all too familiar scent drifted to her on the breeze. Slowly she lifted her hands from her face and breathed it in deeply. The sound of a snapping twig to her left had her head swiveling toward it. _He _was standing there… She couldn't believe he was here.

She breathed out, "Oh my god… Tyler."

**….**

**…Klaus's POV…**

**….**

He'd given her time before following her. They needed to talk. As he was part wolf his tracking skills were better than that of ordinary vampires. His sense of smell heightened to a phenomenal degree.

On and on he ran, following what tracks she'd left on the ground and when they were gone he went to following her by her scent. She smelled like the sun to him, or a warm summer day after a newly fallen rain. It was a unique scent, one that was entirely her own… it was nothing like the silly perfumes so many women wore. It was different. It was beautiful. He would know the scent of her anywhere, over anything.

The presence of another scent familiar to him had him stopping._ "Well now… what is he doing here?!" _He thought to himself with a growl. "Tyler!"

He was off again in a flash. He had no idea what his insolent hybrid was doing here, but he intended to find out. He gave another low growl. He hoped that he wasn't with _his _Caroline. The thought of him anywhere near her again had him seeing red. He expected the mongrel to have had enough sense to get as far from Mystic Falls as possible. Alas, Tyler was proving himself to be more stupid than he'd ever thought him to be.

He could hear her now. He stopped. He could also hear _him_. He was speaking with Caroline. He stood perfectly still, letting his hearing focus in on their conversation.

**...**

**...Caroline's POV...**

**...(& a little of Klaus's POV, his are in italics)...**

**...**

"Tyler... you're here!" She ran to him and threw her arms around him. Just as suddenly she pulled away. "You can't be here, if Klaus finds out-"

"I had to see you, Care... God, I've missed you!" Tyler drew her her into his arms and held her tightly.

She sighed and returned his embrace. She had missed him too. So much. Little did she know that a few miles away stood a furious Klaus.

Tyler spoke after several long minutes of holding her. "What are you doing all the way out here?"

She froze. _Think, Caroline, Think... Tell him something, anything. _"Just a fight with Elena about her relationship with Damon. I still think the two of them together is gross. She just... makes me crazy sometimes." She pulled away a little to look him in the eye as she said this. She hoped to god that she was convincing.

He looked a little skeptical. She added, "We both said some pretty hurtful things, Tyler... It was our worst fight ever. I just needed to get away for a few hours. So I just... I ran."

He looked sympathetic now. "I'm sorry, Care." He kissed her forehead lightly.

_Thank god! _She thought to herself. "I don't want to talk about it right now.

...

_Klaus smirked. Caroline was a terrible liar at times, but Tyler was falling for this lie of hers easily. Although, if the mutt didn't remove his hands from his mate soon, He'd find himself with a missing limb._

...

"What are _you _doing out here?"

"I was on my way back to see you and Matt..." Tyler took a deep breath. "To say goodbye."

"What?" Her breath seized in her throat, her words coming out as no more than a whisper.

"I, uh... I found a pack, in Maine." He dropped his arms to his sides and withdrew two letters from his coat pocket. "This explains everything. There is one for Matt too, when you see him, will you please give it to him?"

She nodded, to stunned for words. Tyler leaned in and place one last light kiss on her forehead. "I'm sorry, Care. So sorry." He embraced her briefly once more and whispered, "Good bye." Before he sped away.

Caroline stood rooted to the ground. Frozen. Her life was was now completely torn apart. She fell to her knees, to numb to all the pain rolling through her to cry. Tyler was gone. She was Klaus's Mate. Talk about bombshells.


	9. Chapter 6

**_PLEEEASE READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER!_**

**_IT'S VERY, VERY, VERY IMPORTANT!_**

** OH... MY... GOSH... 94 favs, and double YAY... 200 follows!**

**THANKS EVERYONE!**

**...**

**...Caroline's POV...**

**...**

_Dear Caroline,_

_I can't tell you how sorry I am for not contacting you at all the last few weeks. I suppose I was afraid Klaus might find out where I was from you if I had ever managed to tell you. For nearly a week I just wandered before I ended up in New York. I'd been there for a few days when I met a werewolf and he mentioned his family and pack were back in Maine and he invited me to stay with them. It's a beautiful place Care, you would like it. _

_Anyway, I know you like to get straight to the point, so... here it is. I met someone. Please believe me when I say I went up there still in love with you, but I saw her, got to know her and when we kissed one night, I just knew in my heart that she was it. She's my mate. It is making me sick to my stomache to tell you this in a letter and not face to face, but I knew if I saw you I wouldn't be able to just say the words. I freely admit I'm taking the cowardly way in telling you all this Caroline, but I felt it was the best way to get everything out in the open... so to speak._

_I left my house to Matt, everything is arranged for it to be signed over to him with a lawyer in Richmond. It's all explained in a letter I left for him at his house._

_I can't begin to to express how sorry I am for all of this. For everything I've ever done that has hurt you. You and Matt both are the only two people left in Mystic Falls who truly do mean so much to me. I will always care about you Caroline, and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me one day._

_Love,_

_Tyler._

The words on the single page in her trembling hand were blurred; her tears flowing freely now. The sky was glowing a golden-orange with the setting sun as she read and re-read the letter at least half a dozen times. She wasn't sure... she'd lost count. So numb was she, that it hadn't registered that her phone had been ringing contantly over the hours that she had been sitting on the same fallen log.

Later she would find a full voice-mail box and countless texts.

She'd barely moved except to open the letter Tyler had left her and put the one for Matt in her jacket pocket. She didn't move even an inch as Klaus sat down beside her, she'd sensed him watching her hours ago. She stared straight ahead at the setting sun and when she spoke after several long minutes, her voice barely above a whisper, sounded hollow to her.

"He's gone."

"I know."

"He's... He's gone."

"Come here, love." He gathered her into his arms. She didn't protest. She hadn't expected this, but it was none the less welcoming and she finally gave in to the gut-wrenching sobs that she had been holding back all day.

**...**

**...Klaus & Caroline's POV...**

**...**

He was torn between wanting rip various organ's from Tylers body for hurting Caroline like this and rejoicing that he was now gone for good.

He sat there with her for a good hour while she cried. Hating that she was hurt, but happy that he was the one to comfort her and hold her. After just a little while longer, her sobs quieted down to soft sniffles. She lifted her head and looked at him. All she said was, "Thank you."

"Your welcome." He replied and wiped the tear stains from her face. "We'd best get you home, love... I'm sure everyone is going crazy with wondering where you've been all day."

"You're right." She sniffled once more and pulled away from him. No matter her emotional state, he could've gone on holding her all through the night, just to continue feeling her body against his. _'Soon enough, love,' _he thought to himself.

She looked at the setting sun, the smallest of smiles appearing on her face. "If it weren't for what happened here today, I'd come back. It's peaceful."

"I know the feeling."

"I'm sure you do. Considering what happened a thousand years ago in Mystic Falls, I'm surprised you stuck around after breaking your curse."

"I had good reason to stay." He told her softly.

Despite the sadness and shock that had engulfed her for much of the day, the look in his eyes had her softening towards him just a little more.

"So... why did you follow me?" She asked as she looked down at her feet.

"I was worried about you." He said simply.

"I'm sure that's not the only reason." She replied with smirk.

He grinned just a little. "Very true... despite how you must have been feeling after my admittance earlier, I still wanted to talk with you. Try to figure things out a little more."

"Well, I appreciate the honesty now and from earlier, but I think two bombshells in one day is enough. I just need some time to think... to wrap my head around everything. I'm sure you can understand that." She looked him once more in the eye.

"Of course, Caroline." He replied quietly.

"Thanks."

"Well, shall we get you home now?"

She gave a short burst of laughter and said, "How far did I run?"

He chuckled a little as well. "We are a good 30, or so miles from Mystic Falls."

"No wonder I don't recognize where I am."

"Well, lucky for you I followed you then. I'm an excellent guide." He said with a little smugness.

"That must be your wolf side talking. They're better in the woods than we are."

"True... Hybrid's are even better."

"Aaand that's your ego talking."

He replied with nothing but a cheeky grin. At that she let out a chuckle, her mood lightened just a little. "Let's go." She said after a moment.

"We'll have to go by my home so you can get your car."

"Oh, yeah." She admitted to herself that she'd completely forgotten about that. With one last lingering look at the firey color's of the setting sun and a deep breath, she nodded to Klaus that she was ready to go. And with that they sped away.

Only later would she realize that she had dropped her letter from Tyler somewhere in the woods... And she couldn't bring herself to care.

**...**

**I know this chapter was incredibly short, but I didn't want to go any longer without posting something. I am so, so sorry for the appallingly late update. But once again, inspiration has been very hard to find. Plus, I've been getting into reading Harry Potter fanfiction again... which was my first love in the world of fanfiction.**

**Anyway, I need you all to do something for me. Along with your review, I want to you come up with one idea for me to put into the story. I will work these idea's into the story, along with the last few elements I have in mind for it. I truly believe that this will help get my muse of her lazy behind, because she love's requests. I want as many idea's from as many of you as to dramatic though, please, cause that would only make my writer's block worse. **

**By the way... I don't want an idea that's to commonly used, I want some fresh ones. I feel fresh ones would be best suited to my story. **

**Thanks guys, love you all to pieces!**


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